Henry Schulte
The author is a regular contributor to Voices. He lives in Santa Ynez.
Since California is once again showing the rest of the country what not to do by abolishing nearly all laws, why not just do away with the speed limits as well?
Proposition 47, sponsored by none other than Sen. Kamala Harris, allows anyone to steal just under $1,000 with zero consequences. Small businesses are being crushed having to watch thieves and vagrants “shop” every day by helping themselves to whatever they want and just walk out of the store. No enforcement, since it’s not even worth the trouble, and it’s not “politically correct” to go after those who don’t want to work anyway. And we all know that entering our country illegally, though it still remains a criminal act, has become a permission slip to enjoy the free, low-hanging fruit of America.
God forbid you smoke a cigarette in public, but since pot is now legal, you can certainly enjoy a joint wherever it suits you. And, of course, shooting up heroin or defecating on the street is now just another American pastime. Adding to the lawless mix, there are something like 1.2 million fraudulent Social Security cards being used, and even though technically a federal crime, when it involves the poor, illegal aliens and disenfranchised, it’s OK because that’s the only way these underprivileged people can steal someone else’s identity. Auto insurance? Costs too much. Pay taxes? Pasha.
So why not abolish speed limits as well? No one adheres to them anyway. I recently made a road trip to Oregon, and I felt I was on the Le Mans raceway the entire journey. If Interstate 5 said 70 mph, you better be doing 85 just to stay close. But that’s not enough. Young people will tailgate you until they blow past at speeds I don’t even know. The entire trip felt like one long, big race to nowhere, but everyone was in a hurry to get there.
Closer to home, it’s not any different. Highway 154 is a tailgater’s paradise. If there’s no one in front of you, that Beamer will be 3 feet off your heinie thinking that if he/she pushes hard enough, you’ll just have to go faster. This happens with nearly every trip. And even if there’s 12 cars ahead of you, they still push And then, of course, when they pass, you get the stink eye because you were only going 60-65 mph in a 55-mph zone. What were you thinking? And those really impatient drivers determined to kill someone or themselves have passed on double-yellow lines, and even on the right if there’s the slightest amount of space to squeeze through.
On my 16th birthday, I waited for the DMV to open and ran in to get my driver’s license. Within two weeks, I had two speeding tickets. It wasn’t much later that I was pulled over again and the officer told me that if I got one more ticket — the one he was going to give me — I would lose my license. He didn’t give a ticket that day, and I learned my lesson. That would have been like a death sentence, to lose my new-found freedom so quickly. I make this point because even as we all grow older, some people just never grow up.
So what’s the connection between all of our other laws being ignored and/or broken, and speeding? Simply that nothing matters anymore. If you can get away with it, just do it. This is no reflection on our law enforcement community. I’m sure they’re extremely frustrated trying to do a job knowing that most, if not all, will just get a slap on the wrist for breaking almost any law.
Recently police officers were tossed with water while trying to make an arrest. They probably did the smart thing by just walking away. But there was a time when no one would have dared doing that, and police were respected. However, now, with our new “everyone is a racist” society, it’s a free-for-all. The term “law and order” has lost its value, just like “racism” has lost its meaning.
In San Francisco, the land of Oz and zero laws, even murder doesn’t warrant prison time — especially if you’re an illegal alien. You are provided even more privileges and rights. And the family who endured the loss can’t even sue the sanctuary city that harbored, protected and supported a killer because of a legal technicality. Those of you who support this insane philosophy should imagine someone close, very close to you, murdered right before your eyes, and then envision how helpless you are to do a darn thing about it. You need to feel the pain to understand the injustice of it all.
So yes, why not just continue down the road we’re speeding on and end all speed limits as well. The rudeness of fellow riders will never change. Once in their cars, they are the rulers of their domain and everyone else should get out of the way. They have places to go and people to meet, and you’re slowing them down. Never mind that they’re endangering the lives of innocents.
And for the love of God, if nothing else, use your blinkers! You can manage to talk on the phone, text and lose control of the gas pedal, but you can’t push a little lever to let the people around you know you’re going to turn?
